"Bye, Calvin and Hobbes!"

Happy New Year, regular and one-time readers alike! Sorry this week's
soapbox is a bit late; I'm suffering a bit from writer's block, lack of
discussion topics, and a newly-found interest in World's Chat.

We all opened our newspapers this morning, didn't we? Didn't we?? Okay,
well I did and right off I knew it was missing something... The placement
of the many cartoons was different -- Calvin and Hobbes were no longer
there. Bill Watterson, the man behind what I think is the most hilarious
cartoon in existence, retired on Sunday, causing millions to mourn across the
globe. Now all we have left are Sally Forth, Real-Life Adventures, Foxtrot,
and Bizarro. *sigh*

Calvin and Hobbes is about a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger. Calvin's
tiger is a real being to Calvin, and they have many adventures which are shared
with us every day in the newspaper. Watterson adds wit, juvenile humor, and
hilarious facial expressions which make the cartoon strip that more triumphant.

Right now I am reading the last book of Calvin and Hobbes, "The Calvin and
Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book". This book is different from the other treasuries
Watterson has published because he describes what he's thinking when he draws
his cartoons. I am only twenty pages or so into the book, but I still strongly
recommend it.

One of the most interesting things I've read so far in the book is Watterson's
opinion on Hobbes's existence. He says, "The so-called 'gimmick' of my strip
-- the two versions of hobbes -- is sometimes misunderstood. I don't think
of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin's around.
Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination. The
nature of Hobbes's reality doesn't interest me, and each story goes out of
its way to avoid resolving the issue. Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone
else sees Hobbes another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes
complete sense to the participant who sees it. I think that's how life works.
None of us sees the world in exactly the same way, and I just draw that
literally in the strip. Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of
reality than about dolls coming to life."

This excerpt from Watterson's book depicts Watterson's brilliance and
intelligence. He is able to bring his childhood experiences to life in a
way which makes me laugh for a long time. Not many cartoons have this effect
on me.

I don't think I'll be as excited to read the funnies every morning before
I go off to school now that Calvin and Hobbes are no longer there. I think
many, many other people feel the same way -- why does Peanuts still exist
while The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes are retired?!

I suppose I'll have to quench my first for a laugh from Calvin and Hobbes
by rereading the numerous Calvin and Hobbes books I own. Hehe, I'll
forget the incident when Hobbes cuts Calvin's hair for him...

The last cartoon of Calvin and Hobbes, printed in the Sunday funnies,
had Calvin and Hobbes talking about going off to experience new things and
enjoying the world. No doubt Watterson is the real person talking here. Now
he'll be able to enjoy his life without the worries of deadlines. Poor guy,
he'll actually be too busy reading the tons of fan mail which will start
appearing on his doorstep.

So, like Calvin and Hobbes, every reader will now go explore...explore the wasteland
of cartoons and find another strip to fall in love with. *sigh* Thanks for
the laughs, Mr. Watterson. We appreciate it.

There are many Calvin and Hobbes pages on the Web. I'll just post the
main jumpsite for you so you can choose which page you want to see. Enjoy...